Contraceptive Technology Update – June 1, 2023

Patients Who Experience Homelessness Face Multiple Barriers to Contraceptive Care

Homelessness adds multiple barriers to contraception counseling and care. These patients often cannot access OB/GYNs or family planning clinics because of transportation and insurance obstacles. It is important for all clinicians to ask patients experiencing homelessness about their contraceptive needs and to counsel them on all methods.

Ways to Help Patients with Bleeding from Contraceptive Implant

Some patients experience bothersome uterine bleeding after receiving a contraceptive implant, according to a new study of implants and adolescent/young adult patients. Investigators found that 27% of people with an average age of about 19 years reported subsequent bleeding. Those who reported irregular menses before the implant were more likely to report bleeding after receiving the implant.

More Support Needed for Contraceptive Healthcare at Student Health Centers

States, universities, and the sexual and reproductive health community need to help students obtain optimal contraceptive and reproductive healthcare through the most convenient place for students — the college health center, according to recent research.

Patients with Bleeding Disorders Report IUD Expulsion Rates Similar to Others

The results of recent research suggest clinicians should not hesitate to insert a hormonal IUD in patients with a bleeding disorder because their IUD expulsion rate is similar to that of other women with heavy bleeding but without a bleeding disorder diagnosis.

Vaginally Inserted Contraceptives Can Fill Care Gap for Some

Women around the world lack awareness about most of the vaginally inserted contraceptive methods. This poses the biggest barrier to their use, researchers found. Product cost is another major barrier to adoption, as are unsupportive partner attitudes and women’s concerns about insertion. The most important enabling factor to a person’s use of vaginally inserted contraceptives is counseling from a trained provider or community health worker.

Study: Levonorgestrel IUDs Are Safe and Effective for Up to Eight Years

Research continues to show that the 52 mg levonorgestrel IUD is safe and effective for up to eight years of use. It also can decrease bleeding and spotting, and half of the women using the device experienced amenorrhea or infrequent bleeding.

Telehealth and Mail Order Do Not Delay Use of Abortion Medication

Patients who met with reproductive health providers via telehealth and received medication abortion pills through the mail used the medication in a similar time frame as people who visited clinics in person, according to a recent study.

Teens Benefited from Internet-Delivered Program to Prevent STIs and Pregnancy

Researchers designed an intervention to help prevent STIs and unintended pregnancy among Black teenagers in Louisiana. They found the internet-based program was well-received by the young women, and increased STI prevention behaviors.

Online Learning Modules Helped Reduce Teen STI Rates

Researchers designed an internet-delivered program to prevent STIs and unintended pregnancies among older Black teens in Louisiana. The program, which includes eight modules, successfully engaged its audience and showed modest success at six months.

Clinicians Could Miss Some STI Infections Without Extragenital Screening

In this Q&A, two researchers discuss their recent study on how annual screening for urethral and rectal chlamydia and gonorrhea could be improved with extragenital screening, based on risk factors. The study population included men and women at Louisiana’s Parish Health Units.